Staring at the sudden appearance of the red-haired woman, the Kyūbi (Nine-Tails) twisted its already feral face even tighter and ground out, "Kushina!!"
First Minato, and now Kushina. Only now did the fox realize both of them had left contingencies behind.
If not for Yuto, it might still be in the dark.
Seeing Kushina appear, a small smile touched Yuto's lips. Just as he'd guessed.
Tearing the seal tag would call out Minato. Stirring up the Kyūbi's negative emotions until they bled into Naruto would bring out Kushina.
Even in death, the two of them protected Naruto completely.
Minato blinked when he saw her, then guilt burned in his eyes.
He flashed to her side.
Drip... drip...
Kushina lifted her head to Minato—and tears spilled in a rush.
In the next instant, to the surprise of both Yuto and the Kyūbi, she broke down wailing like a child.
"Mi–Minato... Naruto, th–that kid... he's so pitiful!"
She clung to him; grief shook her body.
"I'm sorry, Kushina..." Minato's heart felt pierced as he held the weeping woman in his arms. Only deep remorse remained on his face.
Dwelling inside Naruto's mind, both Minato and Kushina could feel what he'd suffered growing up—even if they couldn't always see it.
"Even so... even so... that kid still smiles every day, doesn't he?"
"Why do you people keep doing this to him? I don't care if you're the First Mizukage or some big deal—there's no way I'll let you lay a finger on Naruto!!"
Tears brimmed as Kushina wrenched herself from Minato's embrace; every last scrap of her chakra erupted.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kongō Fūsa (Adamantine Sealing Chains)!!
Dozens of chakra chains flooded toward Yuto like a tidal wave.
Her chakra was overwhelming—far fiercer than Minato's.
Thud! Thud!
In a blink Yuto was bound in place, wrapped tight by the chains.
"Such power from mere lingering chakra?" Yuto stood still, feeling the force coiled in the chains, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Minato, use fūinjutsu (Sealing Technique)!" Kushina cried. She'd seen the earlier clash: if ninjutsu and taijutsu didn't work on Yuto, then only sealing arts would.
Minato had already moved by the time she spoke—gold flashed and he appeared at Yuto's side.
But then the chains began to move on their own—or rather, they were being absorbed by Yuto.
Kushina staggered, nearly collapsing. As Yuto kept drinking in the chains, her body grew more and more transparent.
She had to sever the Kongō Fūsa linking back to her, or vanish on the spot.
"A shame. If you were still alive, your Kongō Fūsa might actually have caused me trouble," Yuto said, looking up at her with a touch of genuine respect.
Boom!
A roar answered him—Kongō Fūsa, even more powerful than before, burst from Yuto himself and lanced at Minato and Kushina.
Thanks to the siphoned chakra, Kushina had grown so weak she couldn't even dodge; she could only watch the incoming chains, eyes wide.
Minato flickered aside from Yuto's strike—then a streak of gold planted him before Kushina, pulling her tight into his arms. Two tear tracks cut his cheeks as he smiled bright and looked down at her.
"Sorry to make you suffer..."
Squelch—squelch—
The chains speared through them both, suspending them in the air.
Kushina lifted her head with effort. Tears still wet her face, but she put on a mock-angry look and raised a trembling hand to tap Minato's head. "M–Men... shouldn't cry. Or... people will look d–down on you."
Minato's eyes overflowed at once.
Kushina turned, struggling, to face Yuto. Her voice was a thin thread. "C–Could you... please not hurt Naruto? I really want to s–see that kid... to tell him... to eat well..."
Yuto fell briefly silent. He didn't reply. Promises made in a moment like this meant nothing.
Under his control, the Kongō Fūsa shivered—
and before Kushina could finish, she and Minato dispersed entirely, their chakra scattering from before his eyes.
Watching the couple fade, Yuto's expression dimmed. Once, unifying the shinobi world had only been a "system" task.
Now, he found himself thinking—maybe it wasn't a bad mission.
At least... at least the shinobi world might see fewer wars, right?
Hashirama, your choice back then was wrong. I'm sure Madara thought so too.
Minato was a qualified Hokage—every decision he made was the best for Konoha at the time. But he was absolutely not a qualified father.
Kushina, though, was a good mother—and a good wife.
With the toughness of the Uzumaki body, if she hadn't chosen to die with Minato, she could have held on for a while longer.
She could have used that time to put Naruto's status in order before passing on.
And when Minato sealed the Kyūbi, he could have split it: half into Naruto, and half sealed back into Kushina.
That approach wasn't impossible. When the yang half of the Kyūbi's chakra was extracted from Naruto and he was on the verge of death, Obito sealed the yin half back into him—and Naruto survived. That alone proves the method could work.
Standing on the opposite side or not, Yuto respected Kushina more than Minato.
If she were still alive and Konoha dared bully Naruto like that, she'd probably have torn the village down.
After a brief silence, Yuto lifted his eyes to the Kyūbi. "Your turn."
Roar!
Every hair on the fox stood on end. Even with the cage between them, it suddenly felt as if the bars offered a sliver of safety.
The Kyūbi surged upright, baring its fangs at the small figure ahead.
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